New Year's Resolutions

Some people love New Year's resolutions. Just like Thanksgiving beckons us to reflect on the past, New Year's Eve seems like the perfect time to plan for the future. Whether we need to loose weight, have a healthier lifestyle, be more organized, or work on relationships, this is commonly viewed as the perfect time-window to set concrete goals. While I applaud the desire to make plans without which life might otherwise stagnate, I don't often get my own act together. Perhaps the liveliness of a 1000sqft household, which my husband and I share with 6 active kids (and usually some extras), a guinea pig, a parakeet, and the hens that wander in, whenever the door is left open, seems to leave little room for extra plans. In fact, that is exactly what I told a friend this year, when she advised  me to read Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life. She would not take "no" for an answer, so, thanks to her tenacity, I not only read the book, but also realized that one must plan ahead, in order to fulfill the purpose for which God made each one of us. This, as opposed to regular New Year's resolutions, is an ongoing goal that we seek to accomplish on a daily basis, each day presenting a new beginning. To give you a concrete example, I have decided to let you peek at part of my "purpose statement", which I wrote after reading Rick Warren's book. Perhaps this will encourage you to look over the notes you might have taken years ago after reading The Purpose Driven Life, or it might motivate you to create a totally different kind of New Year's resolution.

My Purpose is to Worship God

God made me, exactly the way he wanted me to be. He loves the way I look, my personality, my gifts, talents and interests. He does not want to change a thing about them. God has entrusted me with this life. It makes him happy, when I accept it, thanking him for it and running with it for his glory.

God is my creator. I can trust that his ways are better than mine. Surrendering to the hands of the potter, the clay becomes exactly what the potter had intended. He is also my king, who desires my love, trust, obedience and praise. Above all, he is my father, passionate about his relationship with me. I choose to run into his open arms, sharing my life with him, by spending my days talking to him and listening as he speaks to me. I don't want my walk with him to become meaningless or blocked though sin or by believing a lie about God or myself. Therefore I desire to be quick to confess my sins, thankful that I am given Christ's righteousness. I will make every effort to daily focus on him, drawing near through adoration, making sure my thoughts are scriptural, my walk sincere, my prayers thoughtful, and remembering what God has already done. This is my act of worship.

"One thing I have asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple."
"You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, Lord, do I seek."" (Psalm 27:4+8)